The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of career-oriented performance task (COPT) approach against the traditional teaching approach (TTA) in enhancing students’ critical thinking skills. Specifically, it sought to find out if students exposed to COPT have higher critical thinking skills than those students exposed to the traditional teaching approach (TTA). COPT approach aims to integrate career-oriented examples and inquiry-based activities in general inorganic chemistry. The study used the quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. The sample of the study consisted of two (2) intact sections of first-year students in a private higher education institution in Manila who are enrolled in general inorganic chemistry during the second semester of school year 2011-2012. Thirty-nine (39) students are in the COPT class while thirty-eight (38) students are in the TTA class. The instrument used in the study is the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) to evaluate students’ critical thinking skills. The study found out that the mean posttest score in the WGCTA was not significantly higher for students exposed to COPT than for students exposed to TTA. The COPT approach in teaching chemistry was not effective in enhancing students’ critical thinking skills given the limited time of intervention. Longer exposure to intervention is necessary to enhance students’ critical thinking skills.

A research on the effects of the microteaching Multiple-Representation Lesson Study (MRLS) on pre-service Physics teachers’ critical thinking was conducted using a pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design. Eighteen fourth year Bachelor of Secondary Education-Physical Science majors participated in the research. The experimental group employed the microteaching MRLS while the control group implemented the Traditional Instructional Planning Approach (TIPA). Data were gathered from multiple sources such as researcher-made written tests, interviews, diaries, and field notes. The Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to ascertain statistical difference between the experimental and the control group. Results revealed significant differences in the scores between the two groups in the overall critical thinking and on its sub-domains. Findings indicate beneficial effects of the microteaching MRLS in developing pre-service teachers’ critical thinking. Keywords: critical thinking, lesson study, multiple representations, physics education, pre-service teachers, science education.

This study reports on the status and correlations among environmental literacy (EL), locus of control (LOC), and future orientation (FO) of STEM students (N = 512). The EL results showed a low rate of students' Environmental Knowledge but high Environmental Skills. The LOC results revealed that students believed that they could best create environmental impacts through recycling yet least by advocating on the environment. They were also more inclined to considering distant outcomes or consequences of their actions rather than focusing on their immediate needs. The STEM students' academic background, convenience, and personal benefit among others might have contributed to correlation results of EL, LOC, and FO reported in this study. It is suggested that ample opportunities be given to students to improve their EL. This may include going beyond environmental theories and engaging students in authentic experiences to provide them with active roles in learning environmental topics. Moreover, these topics should not only be consistently integrated among the fields of sciences but also in other subjects making them interdisciplinary, meaningful, and relatable.

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